Defense Spending
Defense Spending
DoD budgets and European defense spending trends.
About Defense Spending
Much of the drone money announced has not yet been appropriated. The Pentagon asked for $54.6 billion for autonomous warfare in its 2027 budget; by late October, Congress had written $1 billion of it into bills.
The US Army wants $994 million for small counter-drone systems in fiscal 2027, nearly double the $596 million it received for 2026. The Pentagon's counter-drone task force committed more than $158 million to equipment for US sites in its first year, the Department of War said on 15 October.
States get money of their own. FEMA opened the second $250 million of its counter-drone grants to all 56 states and territories on 16 October. California's share, $18.7 million, is the largest.
In Europe, France's updated military programming law adds €36 billion to defence spending to 2030, when its defence budget reaches €76.3 billion, or 2.5% of GDP. The European Commission plans €28.3 billion for Ukraine's defence industry this year and says €15.4 billion of it is still available.
Coverage
Pentagon Offers Neros Up to $450M to Make Drone Parts
The loan is conditional and nothing is drawn yet. Neros adds $165M of its own and plans to sell motors and radios to other drone makers.
A Chinese Border County Is Buying Three Counter-Drone Lasers
Tashkurgan, which borders Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan, awarded ¥10.99 million for three counter-drone stations; lasers are half of it.
Bell Now Expects an MV-75 Charge of Up to $150 Million
The Army's first MV-75 production order now waits on a 2027 budget Congress has not passed; in July, Textron put the charge at $60M to $110M.
Congress Backs $1 Billion of the $54.6B DAWG Request
The rest rides on a reconciliation bill that has not passed. Hegseth wants a four-star Autonomous Warfare Command by October 2027.
UAE's EDGE Will Arm Morocco's Combat Drones With Glide Bombs
No value, quantity or drone types were published. EDGE will also modify Morocco's drones and their software to carry the weapons.
Pentagon Plans 25,000 BAE Counter-Drone Rocket Kits a Year
There is no contract or price yet. The seven-year framework waits on Congress, and the Navy's own 2027 request is 1,383 kits.
FEMA Opens $250M Counter-Drone Grants to All 56 States
Seven dollars in ten go out as a statutory floor. Jamming gear bought with any of it needs accredited police to switch it on.
EU Adds €130M for Drones and Counter-Drone Gear at Borders
The money goes to border authorities in 16 member states and Norway from a home-affairs fund, not the defence budget. No country amounts were published.
JIATF-401 Committed $158M to Homeland Counter-Drone Gear
The task force's first-year review counts money and projects, not results: no systems fielded, sites protected or drones stopped.
Navy Orders 30 Medium Drone Ships at About $40M Each
The Navy published an average price, not a total. Saronic, HII and Galliano Marine build ten each, with the first due by September 2027.
Taiwan Coast Guard Reopens NT$783 Million Drone Tender
The first round was voided in August. The 18 drones were meant to reach Taiping Island in the Spratlys by March; bids now close 9 November.
EU Pays €1.24B for Ukrainian-Made Drones and Interceptors
It is the fifth defence payment from the €90 billion loan, and €15.4 billion of this year's defence money is still unpaid.
Pentagon Picks Three Lasers and a Microwave for US Bases
A year-long trial at US bases follows February's El Paso airspace closure. The Pentagon has not said which weapon goes where, how many, or the cost.
DroneShield's $500m counter-drone deal is one of ten
The Army set $4.15 billion of counter-drone ceilings across ten firms on 28 September. About $50 million has been committed to them so far.
Dedrone wins first orders on DHS counter-drone contract
TSA and FEMA spent $6.8 million in the last three days of the fiscal year. One order buys a system built on rival Motorola's D-Fend.
Northrop flies self-funded Talon Blue drone autonomously
The Air Force gave its first combat-drone production contracts to General Atomics and Anduril. Northrop paid for this one itself.
Counter-UAS Contracts Reach $53B in First Eight Months
Publicly announced counter-drone contracts passed $53 billion by September 2026. One ten-year Anduril award accounts for $20 billion of it.
MSPO 2026 Hits 1,000 Exhibitors With Canada as Lead Nation
Poland's defence exhibition sold out two months early and drew a record field, with 25 Ukrainian firms and the first non-European lead nation.
Army's first laser production contract goes to AeroVironment
The Army awarded AeroVironment $464.8 million on 2 September for LOCUST X3 laser weapons, the first US production contract for a high-energy laser.
Anduril's Barracuda-500M Deal Sets 3,000 Missiles, No Price
The May agreement sets minimums, not a value. A low-cost cruise missile flew at White Sands in August; the Army did not say whose.
Companies
Anduril Industries
US defense technology company building autonomous weapons, counter-UAS, and AI command software, and manufacturing them at its own Arsenal-1 plant in Ohio.
United States
AeroVironment
US manufacturer of small tactical UAS, loitering munitions and counter-UAS systems, transformed in scale by its 2025 acquisition of BlueHalo.
United States
Leidos
US defense and government technology contractor providing systems integration, sensing, cyber, and air and missile defense platforms.
United States
RTX Corporation
RTX is a US aerospace and defense company formed from the 2020 Raytheon–United Technologies merger, run as Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney and Raytheon.
United States
Baykar
Turkish defense company behind the Bayraktar TB2, the most widely exported armed drone of the past decade, now also the owner of Italy's Piaggio Aerospace.
Turkey
General Atomics
Privately held US defense contractor whose GA-ASI division builds the Predator and Reaper families of large military uncrewed aircraft.
United States
Huntington Ingalls Industries
America's largest military shipbuilder and the world's largest producer of unmanned underwater vehicles, spanning nuclear shipbuilding and defense tech.
United States
Rheinmetall
German defense and automotive group producing armored vehicles, ammunition, air defense systems, and military drone platforms.
Germany
Funding
Series C
Sequoia Capital, American Strategic Technology Fund, Interlagos, Valor Equity Partners, Allen & Company, Thiel Capital, Spark Capital, Dylan Field
Neros TechnologiesGrowth
Dragoneer Investment Group, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Disruptive, Iconiq, Goldman Sachs Alternatives, JPMorganChase, CPP Investments, General Catalyst, Plural, StepStone
HelsingUndisclosed
Sequoia Capital, Founders Fund, NATO Innovation Fund, Project A, Air Street Capital, 201 Ventures, Advent, Döpfner Capital
STARKContracts
U.S. Army
L3Harris
Three-year contract from the Army's DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center to develop a long-range…
Powerus
Unusual Machines
Purchase order from Powerus Corporation for US-made drone components (motors, batteries, cameras and…
U.S. Navy
Boeing
Not-to-exceed IDIQ for system improvements, configuration development, integration, production…
U.S. Army
Raytheon
Counter-drone contracts for components of the LIDS system, built around the KuRFS radar and Coyote…
Morocco Administration of National Defence
EDGE Group
Supply of DESERT STING 16 guided-glide weapons and THUNDER P-31 guidance kits for the Royal Moroccan…
Related Topics
Related
Every contract award FlightBrief has reported, by quarter, value and buyer.